Draft-rigging-key retainer



Y J. HARRIS DRAFT HIGGING KEY RETAINER Aug. 23, 1927. 1,640,075

Filed Oct. 1'7; 1925 Jaaep Hal r46 Patented Aug. 23, 19 27. i I

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. I

JOSEPH HARRIS, OF WHEATON, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO W. H. MINER, INC., OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

DRAI'T-RIGGING-KEY RETAINER.

Application filed October 17, 1925. Serial No. 62,971.

This invention relates to improvements sectional view corresponding substantially in draft rigging key retainers. to the line 2-2 of Figure 1. And Figure 3 An object of the invention is to provide is a vertical, transverse, sectional view simple and reliable means which may be through one of the draft sills of a car un- 5 economically manufactured for retaining derframe, showing a different embodiment 60 coupler or other draft rigging keys in place, of the invention. so designed that ready removal of the keys In said drawing, referring first to the emis provided for, and" wherein danger of accibodiment of the invention illustrated in dental removal of such keys is positively Figures 1 and 2, -1O indicate channel- 1 prevented. shaped center or draft sills of a railway car 65 Another object of the invention is to prounderframe, provided with the usual front vide means of the character indicated in and rear sets of stop lugs. the front stop the foregoing, wherein are utilized the lugs only being illustrated in the drawing, usual stop lug plates or castings as a part the same being designated by 11-11. The

of the retaining means for the keys withinner end portion of the drawbar is desig- 70 out any substantial increase in the cost of nated by 12 to which is operatively conmanufacture of said plates and without in nected a hooded yoke 13 by means of a 1 any way altering the mode of application transverse key 14. The yoke and the drawof such parts to the draft sills, whereby bar are provided with aligned openings the same may be used with the usual sills adapted to receive the key 14, and the stop without change. lugs 1.1 are in the form of castings as shown,

A further object of the invention is to having key receiving openings 15 therein. provide means fo'r'retaining draft gear keys The openings 15 are reinforced by outwardin assembled relation with the, draft rigly projecting flanges 16, accommodated ging. wherein draft lugs are used as a part Within slotted openings 17 in the draf of the retaining means and wherein the sills 10. The openings 17. are arranged in retaining means cooperates with the optransversely aligned pairs; The stop lug posite ends of the keys to limit endwise discastings 11 are preferably secured to the placement thereof, whereby a plain, unheaddraft sills in the usual manner by a plurali- 30 ed key may be utilized instead of the usual ty of rivets 18. 85 headed key so that the decreased cost of In carrying out my invention, as illustratthe plain key over the. key of the headed ed in Figures 1 and 2, I employ a key of the type will more than offset the slight addiheadless type for attaching the drawbar 12 tional cost incident to the changes in the to the yoke 13, the opposite ends of the key draft lugs or plates. working in the slots 15 of the stop castlngs. 90

Another object of the invention is to pro- The key 14' is preferably in the form of a vide retaining means cooperating with the flat section of a bar. As most clearly shown opposite ends of a plain, headless draft key, in Figure 2.1the remforcing flanges 16 of wherein the retaining means may be readily the key receiving openings of the stop cast- 40 removed to provide for endwise withdrawal ings 11 project outwardly sl1ghtly beyond of the key outwardly of the sills on either the planes of the outer sides of the corside thereof, thereby greatly facilitating reresponding draft s1lls. The upper horizonmoval of the key in case it becomes wedged tal section of each reinforcing flange 16 18 or removal thereof is obstructed in one, diprovided with a laterally pro ecting central rection. enlargement 19 extending beyond the cor- Other objects and advantages of the inresponding outer end of the key 14. A revention will more fully and clearly appear talnlng anglemember 20 is supported by from the description and claims'hereinafter the fl g 860M011 19 of each p castlng following. i one of the flanges of the angle member 20 50 In the drawing forming a part of this being disposed horizontally and secured to specification, Figure 1 is a side elevational the upper face of the section 19 by any sultview of a portion of a. railway draft rigable means such as bolts 21 extendin ging, showing my improvements in conthrough aligned openings in the horlzontal nection therewith the end sill being shown flange and the section 19. The other flange in section. Figure 2is a vertical, transverse, of the angle member 20 1s vertically dis- 110 posed and overhangs the corresponding end of the key 14. As shown in Figure 2, the depending flanges of the angie members 20 are so located that there will be a slight clearance between the same. and the corresponding outer end of the key 14:. The sections 19 of the flanges 16 of the stop castings 11 are preferably counter-sunk to receive the heads of the bolts 21 so that. the free movement of the key longitudinally of the sills in the slotsl5 will be unobstructed. As most clearly shown in. Figure 1, the dependi flanges of the angle members 20 are of such a width lengthwisev of the car as to at all times overlap a portion of the corresponding end of the key 14' during the diff 'ent operative positions'of the latter. As will be evident, the angle members are readiiy detachable by removing the bolts 21, whereby the key let may be removed in a direction outwardly of the sills.

in case it is desired to remove or replace the key 14., either one or both of the angle members20 may be detached. As the angle members QOare relatively heavy and are held tothe draft lugs by the bolts. 21, there is no danger of the angle members being broken or sheared off due. to forces exerted by the lateral thrust of the key 14;. It will be evi .cnt that by making both of the angle members removableand utilizing a headless key, the key may be driven out in either direction. This is of extreme importance where removal of the key is prevented in one direction by an obstruction or by the key becoming jammed in the openings of the drawbar and yoke.

Referring next to the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figure 3', 1O indicates one of the d raft sills of a" railway draft 11 the stop lug and 14.- a key of the .dless type, these parts being identical with the parts 11 and 14- described in connection with Figures 1 and 2. The draft lug 11 is provided with a laterally projecting flange section 19 identical with the flange section 19 hereinb'efore described. In this instance. the retaining member is in the form of a bendable sheet metal strip of suitably heavy gauge, the same being indicated by 120. The strip 120 is preferably fixed to the upper side of the section 19 of the flange of the stop lug and may be secured by any suitablemeanjs. rivets 121 being preferably employed. The bendable strip 120 has a de pending portion 122 forming an abutment for the cor 'e'sponding outer end of the key 14-. In gnnc'tice the gauge of the metal will be heavy enough so that the bent down flange will resistoutward pressure from the key. The depending portion 122' is slightly spaced from the corresponding end of the key to provide for a certain amount of lateral play of the latter. The position of the section 122 of the strip 120 when the strip as applied to the stop castings is indicated in dotted lines in Figure 3, the same being disposed in the plane of the main body portion of the strip. In this posit-ion of the section 122 the opening of the stop lug is unobstructed and the key may be readily inserted. A with the draft rigging, the section 122 of the strip islhammered or bent down, from the dotted line position shown to the full line position. in overhanging relation to the corresponding end of the key. It will be evident that when it is desired to remove the key, it is merely necessary to bend the section 12-2 of the strip 120 upwardly to the dotted line position shown' The key may then be removed by driving .he same outwardly of the sills in either direction.

Although I have herein shown my imyn'ovements applied to stop lug castings of a draft rigging, it will be evident that the same may be employed in connection with what are commonly known as the Far-low attachments. whichv employ several lreys sim ilar to a coupler key for effecting the necessary connection between the yoke aetiiflglinks and the drawbar. V

From the preceding description it will be seen that in carrying ou my improvements the only additional expense in the manufac ture of the stop lugs or attachment plates as the case may be, is that arising because of the slight amount of additional metal necesto provide the extensions of the flanges. llo additional cost in the application of the stop lug castings or attachment plates is involved, since they are applied in the same manner as heretofore and with the same number of rivets, the punching of the sills remaining as heretofore. Furthermore, with my improvements, 1 am enabled to use a plain key as distinguished from a headed key. which materially reduces the cost of such keys, since no forging of the ends or drilling for cotter pin holes is required and.

the keys may be cut in suitable lengths from plain bars.

lVhil-e my improvements are probably most advantageously used in connection with plain or unheaded keys as illustratech nevertheless it will be understood that my improvements are equally effective if used with keys of the headed type, in which event it is only necessary to use retaining means adjacent the headed ends of the keys.

lVhile l have herein shown and described the preferred manner of carrying out my invention. the same is merely illustrative and I contemplate all changes and modifications that come within the scope of the claims app'end ed'hereto.

I claim:

1. In aretaining means for a connecting key of a draft rigging, wherein the key eX- tends' transversely of the sills and has one end 'ter the key has been assembled thereof projecting outwardly beyond the plane of one sill through a slot therein; the combination with a cast-ing of the draft rigging secured to one face of said sill, said casting having a flanged section fitting within said slot of the sill and having a portion of said flanged section projecting outwardly of the plane of the sill beyond the adjacent end of the key; of means supported solely by said projecting portion having a free end overlapping the adjacent end of the key to prevent accidental removal of said key from the corresponding side of the draft sills, said free end always overlapping a portion of said end of the key in any longitudinal posi tion of the latter while in said slot.

2. In a retaining means for a connecting key of a draft rigging, wherein the key extends transversely of the sills and has one end thereof projecting outwardly beyond the plane of one sill through a slot therein, the combination with a casting of the draft rigging secured to one face of said sill, said casting having a flanged section fitting within said slot of the sill and having said flanged section projecting outwardly of the plane of the sill beyond the adjacent end of the key; of holding means supported by said outwardly extended flanged section of the casting, said means having a depending abutment section opposed to said end of the key to prevent accidental removal of said key from the corresponding side of the draft sills, said section at all times overlapping a portion of said end of the key in any longitudinal position of the latter while in said slot.

8. In a retaining means for a connecting key of a draft rigging, wherein the key extends transversely of the sills and has one end thereof projecting outwardly beyond the plane of one sill through a slot therein, the combination with a casting of the draft rigging secured to one face of said sill, said casting having a flanged sect-ion fitting with- .n said slot of the sill and having said flanged section projecting outwardly of the plane of the sill beyond the adjacent end of the key; of a bendable holding element supported by said outwardly extended flanged section of the castings said element being bendable to bring a section thereof into overlapping relation to said end of the key, thereby providing an abutment opposite said end of the key to prevent accidental removal thereof from the corresponding side of the draft sills, said section at all times overlapping the ortion of said end of the key in any longitudinal position of the latter while in said slot.

4. In a railway draft rigging, the combination with center sills having key receiving openings and a key working in said opening; of an inherently bendable retaining element having one end rigidly supported from the outer side of one center sill and having a portion disposed outwardly of and overlapping the corresponding end of the keyand adapted to limit endwise movement thereof in one direction.

5. In a railway draft rigging, the combination with center sills having aligned key receiving openings reinforced by flanged mem-- .bers, a key working in said reinforced open ings, the ends of said key terminating 1nwardly of the outer edges of the flanges of said members; of a pair of angular retaining elements carried. by the flanges of said members, said elements having depending flanges disposed outwardly of the corresponding ends of the key, said depending flanges forming abutment means for limiting endwise displacement of the key.

6. In a railway draft rigging, the combination with opposed draft sills having aligned key receiving openings and a connecting key working in said openings; of a fixed retaining element cooperating with an end of the key, said element having a depending section overhanging said end of the key to prevent accidental removal of the key from the corresponding side of the draft sills.

7 In a railway draft rigging, the combination with opposed draft sills having aligned key receiving openings and a connecting key working in said openings; of a fixed retaining element cooperating with an end of the key, said element having a depending section overhanging said end of the key to prevent accidental removal of the key from the corresponding side of the draft sills, said element being bendable whereby said section may be displaced to one side of the key to permit removal of the latter from the corresponding side of the draft sills;

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 10th day of October, 1925.

JOSEPH HARRIS. 

